Today I am sharing my favourite hack of the Bessie top with you. When the top was first coming together, I thought that a knit version of it may look nice. Then the pandemic started and we were staying at home. I had less need for a woven top and I decided to finally give a knit Bessie a try, and I am so happy I did!
The hack is pretty simple. I omitted the darts and re-drawn the hem on the front piece. I used View A neckline and drafted a neck band to finish the t-shirt off. That’s it!
I can walk you through the steps I did to remove the dart from the front piece, but I decided to go ahead and do that for you. If you click the link below you will get a knit Bessie extension, for free, where you will find a dart-less front and a neck band pieces.
A couple of pointers:
- the seam allowances on the pattern are still 1/2″ (1.3 cm so that they match the rest of the pattern pieces. So make sure to serge 1/4″ (0.3 cm) off when sewing. Or if you are using a zig-zag stitch, sew with 1/2″ (1.3 cm) seam allowance
- The hem allowance is also 1/2″ (1.3cm). If you want a wider hem, make sure to add some extra length to the bottom
- The construction steps are the same, except for topstitching and hemming. I did not topstitch the raglan seams on the t-shirt and to hem it, I just folded it under and topstitched in place
- I used a zig-zag stitch (2 long x 3 wide) to hem the t-shirt and topstitch the neck band
For the fabric I used a cotton/spandex knit. This knit fabric had a bit of a volume and I thought it would look nice with this pattern. However, I think a softer drape of bamboo or tencel knit would look lovely too!
I hope you give knit Bessie top a try, and if you do, don’t forget to share it on social media and tag me.
xoxo,
Anya
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